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Reprinted  from  the  EDUCATIONAL  REVIEW,  New  York,  Jt%e,  TrtT" 


Copyright,   1912,  by  EDUCATIONAL  REVIEW  PUBLISHING  Co.^^:' 

T 
ii  H7 

PATRIOTISM,    INSTINCTIVE    AND    INTELLIGENT 

On  the  Fourth  of  July,  1911,  the  number  of  accidents  re- 
ported by  the  Associated  Press  was  905.  This  was  said  to  be 
less  than  one-half  the  number  occasioned  by  the  patriotic  jubila- 
tion of  the  preceding  Fourth,  and  about  one-third  of  the 
casualties  of  July  Fourth,  1909.  The  diminishing  number  of 
killed  and  wounded  has  been  widely  commented  upon  as  indi- 
cating a  rapid  approach  toward  a  "  safe  and  sane  "  Independ- 
ence Day. 

But  shall  we  really  have  a  "  sane  "  Fourth  when  the  number 
of  killed  and  wounded  on  that  day  is  reduced  to  zero?  That 
depends  upon  whether  with  diminishing  casualties  we  have  a 
growing  apprehension  of  what  the  Fourth  of  July  really  means. 
The  Chicago  Tribune  properly  observes  that  "  advocates  of 
a  sane  celebration  are  not  merely  interested  in  the  prevention 
of  dangerous  and  brutal  practises.  Restrictive  ordinances  do 
that  and  the  effort  of  the  persons  interested  in  a  genuine  cele- 
bration has  been  to  provide  a  means  of  demonstrating  and 
teaching  real  patriotism."  We  shall  never  have  a  sane  Fourth 
until  we  have  a  sane  patriotism.  But  what  is  a  sane 
patriotism  ? 

Patriotism  can  not  be  really  understood  without  knowing 
something  of  the  manner  of  its  development.  Primarily  it  is 
an  identification  of  the  individual  with  the  group  to  which  he 
belongs — family,  tribe,  state,  or  nation.  The  patriot  proudly 
speaks  of  "my  family,"  "my  tribe,"  "my  state,"  "my 
people."  This  identification  is  based  upon  a  certain  feeling 
which  is  the  product  of  group  association,  and  this  feeling 
is  instinctive. 

Sociology  ascribes  the  origin  of  patriotism  to  the  family 
lif e^ the  family  being  the  first  social  group?  That  thislsTcor- 

13 

263409 

: 


14  Educational  Review 

rect  is  indicated  by  the  origin  of  the  word  patriotism.  It  is 
derived  from  the  Greek  word  Ttarpio?,  which  means  of  or 
belonging  to  one's  father.  The  Indo-Germanic  root  of  the 
word  is  pa,  from  which  we  have  the  Latin  pater  and  the  Eng- 
lish words  father,  paternal,  patriarch,  patriotism,  and  many 
others.  Perhaps  the  root- word  itself  is  but  the  natural  in- 
fantile utterance  reduplicated  in  the  word  papa.  At  all  events 
the  word  patriotism  has  plainly  a  family  origin.  The  papa, 
the  father,  being  the  providing,  protecting,  and  governing 
element  in  the  family  group,  his  authority  supreme,  dignity, 
protection,  and  support  being  personified  in  him,  he  was  natu- 
rally the.  object  of  reverence  and  devotion.  Loyalty  to  the 
pater,  the  father,  the  patriarch,  was  therefore  the  earliest 
form  of  patriotism. 

In  the  course  of  social  evolution  the  family  enlarged  into 
the  clan,  the  gens,  or  the  tribe.  The  interests  of  single 
families  were  then  more  or  less  submerged  in  the  interests 
of  a  group  of  families  of  which  each  was  a  component  ele- 
ment. The  chief  representative  of  these  larger  interests  was 
the  head  man,  the  chieftain,  including  later  the  council. 
Loyalty  to  the  father  and  family  exclusively  was  inconsistent 
with  clan  or  tribal  life.  Hence  patriotism  extended  itself  to 
the  interests  of  the  larger  group  and  their  tribal  representa- 
tives. There  was,  so  to  speak,  an  expansion  of  patriotism. 
This  new  form  was  represented  in  the  clannishness  of  the 
early  Scot,  "  owning  no  tie  but  to  his  clan/'  the  tribal  instincts 
of  the  American  Indian  and  other  primitive  peoples,  and  the 
partizanship  of  the  early  Greeks  and  Romans.  With  the 
formation  of  the  tribe,  patriotism  past  from  fatherism  to 
tribalism. 

In  the  amalgamation  of  tribes  into  states  and  nations  the 
^expansion  of  the  feeling  now  known  as  patriotism  continued. 
Loyalty  to  the  tribe  past  over  into  loyalty  to  the  state  or 
nation,  and  the  feeling  of  patriotism  became  what  we  ordi- 
narily express  as  love  of  country,  the  feeling  which  incites  the 
individual  to  identify  his  interests  more  or  less  with  those 
of  his  country,  and  to  speak  and  act  in  a  manner  which  he 
supposes  will  illustrate  this  identification. 


1912]       Patriotism,  instinctive  and  intelligent  15 

Of  course,  the  feeling  of  patriotism  is  not  confined  alone  to 
the  personal  group  of  which  the  individual  is  a  member.  _J 
attaches  itself  also  to  the  natural  surroundings  of  the  group. 
"  I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills,  thy  woods  and  templed  hills  "  is 
the  expression  of  a  truly  patriotic  sentiment.  But  we  may 
include  in  our  conception  of  a  social  group  the  natural  con- 
ditions which  surround  it,  and  no  misunderstanding  need 
arise  from  defining  patriotism  as  primarily  an  instinctive 
group  feeling^. 

Patriotism,  then,  like  all  other  things  in  the  universe,  like 
the  mind  and  all  its  manifestations,  has  had  its  origin  and  its 
development.  It  originated  in  association,  and  association 
has  been  the  main  factor  in  its  growth.  Now  the  fact  of  the 
evolution  of  patriotism,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  has  taken 
place  are  the  basis  of  a  safe  prophecy  with  respect  to  what 
patriotism  is  to  become,  if  political  and  social  organization 
and  amalgamation  continue.  The  affiliation  and  federation 
of  countries  will  enlarge  the  feeling  of  patriotism.  The 
"  Parliament  of  man  and  federation  of  the  world  "  would 
as  certainly  conduce  to  cosmopolitanism  or  political  human- 
ism as  tribal  associations  conduced  to  tribalism,  and  the  con- 
solidation of  tribes  into  states  and  states  into  nations  conduced 
to  the  modern  patriotic  feeling.  Lgve_nf_couritry  ;_must  gradu- 
ally give.  .place  to  love  of  kind. 

Altho  patriotism  expands  with  the  enlarging  composition  of 
the  group,  it  does  not  necessarily  sever  itself  from  any  point 
of  attachment.  The  family  feeling  may  still  be  strong  in  the 
tribe,  as  with  the  Montagues  and  Capulets  in  Rome,  for  in- 
stance; and  devotion  to  the  state  may  be  powerful  in  the  citi- 
zens of  the  nation,  as  was  conspicuously  shown  in  the  seces- 
sion of  the  Southern  States  of  America.  So  also  the  cosmo- 
politan may  retain  his  love  of  country.  He  is  not  necessarily 
"  a  traitor,"  as  some  seem  to  suppose.  Neither  does  this 
larger  patriotism  imply  a  lack  of  family  affection  with  a 
Mrs.  Jellyby's  sentimental  interest  in  the  inhabitants  of  Bor- 
rioboola-Gha.  In  pure  cosmopolitanism,  however,  the_£j)irit 
or  racial  antagonism  must  necessarily  vanish, 


and  loyalty  to  one  country  or  race  as  against  another  country 


1 6  Educational  Review  [June 

or  race  must  be  controlled  and  tempered  by  devotion  to 
humanity.  The  narrower  and  selfish  interests  of  the  particular 
country  to  which  the  citizen  belongs  must  be  held  inferior  to 
the  interests  of  mankind.  Of  course  all  these  interests  may 
coincide,  but  the  world-patriot  can  not  stand  with  his  country 
"  against  the  world/'  unless  his  country  is  right  and  "  the 
world  "  is  wrong.  True  loyalty  and  humanity  can  mean  only 
devotion  to  the  principles  upon  which  the  well-being  of  hu- 
manity rests.  The  world  patriot  must  be  loyal  to  right  every- 
where against  wrong  anywhere.  He  must  stand  for  justice 
to  all  against  injustice  to  any.  When  the  action  or  demands 
of  his  country  conflict  with  the  rights  of  humanity  he  must 
stand  for  humanity.  Hence  he  may  be  called  by  his  com- 
patriots unpatriotic,  but  he  is  so  only  as  viewed  from  the 
interests  of  the  smaller  group.  The  "  politicals  "  of  Russia, 
for  instance,  are  unpatriotic  in  the  eyes  of  the  Russian 
Bureaucracy,  and  its  supporters.  Tho  they  be  faithful  to 
universal  principles  of  liberty  and  equality,  they  are  unfaithful 
to  the  principles  of  Russian  despotism;  hence,  from  a  certain 
Russian  standpoint,  they  are  unpatriotic. 

George  Kennan  in  the  Outlook  for  March  30,  1907,  gives 
an  interesting  and  pathetic  account  of  the  attempt  of  some 
of  these  politicals  to  manifest  their  devotion  to  the  larger  prin- 
ciples of  freedom  embodied  in  our  own  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. He  says :  "  On  the  morning  of  the  Fourth  of  July, 
1876,  hours  before  the  first  daylight  cannon  announced  the 
beginning  of  the  great  celebration  in  Philadelphia,  hundreds 
of  small,  rude  American  flags  or  strips  of  red,  white,  and 
blue  cloth  fluttered  from  the  grated  windows  of  the  politicals 
around  the  whole  quadrangle  of  the  great  St.  Petersburg 
prison,  while  the  prisoners  were  faintly  hurrahing,  singing 
patriotic  songs,  or  exchanging  greetings  with  one  another 
thru  the  iron  pipes  which  united  their  cells.  The  celebration, 
of  course,  was  soon  over.  The  prison  guard,  altho  they  had 
never  heard  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  did  not 
understand  the  significance  of  this  extraordinary  demonstra- 
tion, promptly  seized  and  removed  the  flags  and  tri-colored 
streamers.  Some  of  the  prisoners,  however,  had  more  ma- 


Patriotism,  instinctive  and  intelligent  17 

terial  of  the  same  kind  in  reserve,  and  at  intervals  thruout  the 
whole  day  scraps  and  tatters  of  red,  white,  and  blue  were 
furtively  hung  out  here  and  there  from  cell  windows  or  tied 
around  the  bars  of  the  gratings.  Late  in  the  evening  at  a 
preconcerted  hour,  the  politicals  lighted  their  bits  of  tallow 
candles  and  placed  them  in  their  windows,  and  the  celebra- 
tion ended  with  a  faint  but  perceptible  illumination  of  the 
great  prison." 

This  mournful  and  touching  endeavor  to  celebrate  our  Fourth 
of  July  did  not  necessarily  indicate  a  greater  love  of  our 
country  than  of  Russia,  but  it  did  imply  a  devotion  to  political 
principles  of  universal  application.  We  may  conceive  that  the 
aspiration  and  ideal  of  these  politicals  was  merely  that  these 
principles  should  prevail  in  their  own  fatherland.  They 
loved  not  Russia  less,  but  freedom  more.  They  at  least  ap- 
proximated a  "  higher  patriotism." 

Thus  far  we  have  spoken  of  patriotism  as  an  instinctive 
feeling  or  sentiment.  Now,  it  is  characteristic  of  an  instinct 
that  it  acts  without  reflection.  Tho  originally  purposive  in 
action,  and  serving  as  an  agent  in  individual  or  group  preserva- 
tion, an  instinct  talkes  no  consideration  of  objective  circum- 


stances. It  is  a  ^  blind  impulse.  When  the  stimulus  is  pro- 
vided it  operates;  and  its  operation  has  often  led,  in  the 
course  of  biological  and  social  evolution,  to  the  extinction  of 
individuals  and  of  groups.  Patriotism,  therefore,  so  far 
as  it  is  instinctive,  is  impulsive,  blind,  unreasoning,  and  irre- 
flective.  It  thrills,  it  hurrahs,  it  boasts,  it  fights  and  dies  with-  l 
out  calmly  considering  what  it  is  all  about.  It  resents  a 
fancied  insult  without  stopping  to  ascertain  whether  it  is  real. 
It  flies  to  the  defense  of  the  supposed  interests  of  its  group 
without  inquiring  whether  the  interests  are  worthy  or  the 
danger  is  actual.  It  is  blind  patriotism  and  springs  from  the  ] 
emotional  side  of  the  mind.  It  differs  in  no  essential  respect 
from  the  impulse  of  the  tiger  to  defend  its  young,  or  from 
that  of  the  wild  cattle  of  the  prairie  to  defend  the  herd.  It  is 
easily  aroused  and  easily  "  stampeded." 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  patriotism  which  may  be 
distinguished  from  instinctive  patriotism  by  the  word  intelli- 


1 8  Educational  Review  [June 

gent.  The  emotions  are  subject  to  the  control  of  the  intellect. 
It  is  the  function  and  power  of  the  intellect  to  inhibit,  re- 
strain, sometimes  to  eliminate,  an  instinct.  Even  the  in- 
stinct of  self-preservation,  strong  as  it  is,  has  sometimes  been 
wholly  inhibited  by  a  duly  informed  and  reflective  mind. 
The  proper  intelligence  may  therefore  modify,  even  reverse, 
the  actions  springing  from  instinctive  feeling.  Patriotic  senti- 
ment may  be  held  subject  to  a  thoro  knowledge  of  political 
and  social  conditions  and  a  sense  of  justice.  When  so  held  it 
becomes  intelligent  patriotism.  Intelligent  patriotism,  then,  is 
patriotic  feeling,  instinctive  patriotism,  under  the  control  and 
guidance  of  knowledge  and  reflection.  It  is  love  of  country 
and  the  disposition  to  serve  it,  coupled  with  a  knowledge  of 
how  to  serve  it  well.  It  does  not  yield  to  impulse.  It  looks 
before  and  after.  It  restrains  a  nation  from  fighting  when 
there  are  no  real  interests  at  stake. 

Now  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  great  need  of  all  nations 
is  intelligent  patriotism.  The  modern  patriot  is  too  much  dis- 
posed to  act  upon  impulse.  He  is  "touchy";  he  goes  off 
"half-cocked";  he  is  full  of  racial  prejudice,  indulges  in 
national  bombast  and  braggadocio,  Chauvinism,  Jingoism,  and 
manifests  a  disposition  to  whip  somebody.  His  patriotism  .is 
chiefly  an  instinctive  patriotism.  Such  patriotism  is  a  feeling 
I  for  one's  country  without  the  control  of  intelligence;  it  is 
*  patriotic  zeal  without  patriotic  knowledge.  Under  its  prompt- 
ings the  patriotic  is  sometimes  the  idiotic.  The  utterances  and 
actions  evoked  by  it  are  sometimes  illustrative  of  the  fact  that 
a  man  may  be  a  patriot  and  still  be  a  fool. 

Among  the  effects  of  instinctive  patriotism  is  the  over- 
weening national  egotism  manifested  by  so  many  "  patriots." 
There  is  a  disease  called  by  the  learned  megalomania.  Its 
primary  symptom  is  "  the  delusion  of  grandeur."  So  many 
patriots  are  megalomaniacs  that  the  disease  seems  to  char- 
acterize every  nation  and  every  people.  It  led  Israel  to  regard 
itself  as  a  "  peculiar  "  people,  the  favorite  of  the  Almighty. 
It  induced  the  Greeks  to  call  all  other  peoples  barbarians.  The 
Chinese,  according  to  their  own  estimate,  are  "  celestials,"  and 
both  the  English  and  the  Americans  speak  of  themselves  as 


1912]       Patriotism,  instinctive  and  intelligent  19 

divinely  commissioned  to  spread  the  blessings  of  civilization 
among  "  inferior  "  peoples,  even  if  they  smother  them  in  the 
process.  All  this  is  national  egotism,  megalomania.  It 
arises  from  a  more  or  less  irreflective  instinctive  patriotism. 

Obviously  great  national  and  social  dangers  are  consequent 
upon  instinctive  patriotism.  By  manifesting  itself  in  antipathy 
toward  another  nation,  and  in  irreflective  action,  it  provokes 
suspicion,  jealousy,  hatred,  and  unnecessary  war.  Washing- 
ton, in  his  Farewell  address,  pointed  out  some  of  these  dan- 
gers. "  Antipathy  in  one  nation  against  another,"  said  he, 
"  disposes  each  more  readily  to  offer  insult  and  injury,  to  lay 
hold  of  slight  causes  of  umbrage,  and  to  be  haughty  and  in- 
tractable, when  accidental  or  trifling  occasions  of  dispute 
occur.  Hence,  frequent  collisions;  obstinate,  envenomed,  and 
bloody  contests.  The  nation,  prompted  by  ill-will  and  resent- 
ment, sometimes  impels  to  war  the  government,  contrary  to 
the  best  calculations  of  policy.  The  government  sometimes 
participates  in  the  national  propensity,  and  adopts  thru  pas- 
sion what  reason  would  reject;  at  other  times  it  makes  the 
animosity  of  the  nation  subservient  to  projects  of  hostility 
instigated  by  pride,  ambition,  and  other  sinister  and  pernicious 
motives.  The  peace  often,  sometimes  perhaps  the  liberty,  of 
nations  has  been  the  victim/'  Instinctive  patriotism  forced 
President  McKinley  into  a  war  with  Spain  which,  with  na- 
tional intelligence  and  forbearance,  might  have  been  avoided. 
It  inspires  irresponsible  and  mischievous  remarks  and  com- 
ments concerning  other  nations,  which  tend  to  provoke 
hostility.  The  following  is  a  sample :  "  I  would  be  in  favor 
of  annexing  Canada  right  now,  if  I  thought  England  would 
fight.  But  just  to  take  Canada  and  have  no  brush  with  Eng- 
land would  be  too  tame.  There  are  hundreds  of  young  men 
in  this  country  who  would  enjoy  a  war  with  England,  and 
some  of  the  young  veterans  of  the  war  would  not  be  slow  in 
going  to  the  front."  This  is  the  language  of  a  former  gen- 
eral of  the  American  Army  as  reported  by  the  Associated 
Press.  The  correspondent  of  the  Pittsburg  Gazette  of  Decem- 
ber 15,  1903,  when  our  relations  with  Colombia  were  some- 
what strained,  wrote :  "  There  are  a  lot  of  young  officers 


2O  Educational  Review  [June 

in  Washington  who  are  hoping  that  the  complications  between 
this  country  and  Colombia  will  result  in  war.  They  do  not 
expect  it  will  be  much  of  a  war  even  if  there  is  a  conflict 
between  the  two  forces,  but  at  any  rate  it  will  open  the  way 
to  promotion  for  some  of  them,  and  promotion  is  the  sole 
ambition  of  the  soldiers."  Remarks  like  these  are  prompted 
solely  by  instinctive  patriotism,  patriotism  unrestrained  by 
social  intelligence. 

Such  patriotism  not  only  leads  to  national  bickering  and 
strife,  but  it  also  prevents  that  national  receptiveness  so  essen- 
tial to  progress.  "  The  national  egotism  which  scorns  to 
learn  of  neighbors,"  says  Brinton,  "  prepares  the  pathway  to 
national  ruin.  .  .  .  That  nation  today  which  is  most  eager 
to  learn  from  others,  which  is  furthest  from  the  fatal  delusion 
that  all  wisdom  flows  from  its  own  springs  will  surely  be 
in  the  van  of  progress."  *  But  instinctive  patriotism  is  not 
eager  to  learn  from  other  nations,  for  the  very  simple  reason 
that  it  thinks  they  have  nothing  superior  to  teach.  To  the 
instinctive  patriot  nothing  in  foreign  nations  is  worthy  of 
emulation  or  adoption.  He  speaks  without  the  slightest 
reverence  of  "Japs,"  and  "Chinks,"  and  "Dagoes";  of 
"  wild  Irishmen,"  "  rat-eating  Frenchmen,"  and  "  flat-headed 
Dutchmen."  Such  a  "  patriot "  may  be  a  gentleman  so  far 
as  his  more  intimate  personal  relationships  are  concerned, 
but  as  a  representative  of  nationality  he  is  often  a  braggart, 
a  bully,  or  a  fool.  His  patriotism  is  irrational  and  irrespon- 
sible, and  consequently  a  danger  to  his  country. 

In  spite  of  the  dangers  of  instinctive  patriotism,  however, 
it  must  be  recognized  that,  like  other  instincts  again,  it  may 
serve  at  times  a  very  useful  purpose.  Indeed,  in  the  absence 
of  social  intelligence,  it  has  been  absolutely  essential  to  the 
preservation  of  social  groups.  When  the  life  of  a  nation, 
for  instance,  is  endangered,  its  citizens  must  rise  instantly  to  - 
its  defense.  There  is  no  time  for  serious  reflection.  To 
deliberate  is  to  be  lost.  Hence  the  disposition  to  spring  to 
arms  is  an  element  of  national  survival;  for  it  leads  the  citi- 
zens to  act  in  concert,  and  so  more  effectively.  Without 

1  Basis  of  social  relationships,  New  York,   1902,  p.  60. 


1912]       Patriotism,  instinctive  and  intelligent  21 

instinctive  patriotism,  no  group  in  a  hostile  environment 
could  have  survived.  On  the  whole,  those  groups  in  which 
it  was  highest  developed  are  the  ones  which  have  persisted. 
Instinctive  patriotism,  then,  has  unquestionably  been  an  ele- 
ment in  social  survival,  as  well  as  an  element  in  social  danger 
and  destruction.  But  however  serviceable  this  form  of  patriot- 
ism may  have  been  in  the  past,  or  however  necessary  in  a 
critical  national  exigency,  it  is  not  the  kind  of  patriotism 
which  is  needed  today.  It  involves  governments  in  needless 
strife,  and  it  renders  the  citizens  easily  susceptible  to  the 
pernicious  influences  of  kings,  diplomats,  and  unscrupulous 
politicians.  Hence,  it  should  be  supplanted  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible by  intelligent  patriotism. 

Intelligent  patriotism  implies  a  particular  kind  of  knowl- 
edge, a  knowledge  of  national  and  social  relationships,  and  of 
the  principles  of  industrial  and  political  well-being.  In  the 
endeavor  to  develop  it  in  the  schools,  for  instance,  we  may 
safely  rely  upon  the  existence  of  patriotic  feeling  and  devote 
attention  exclusively  to  promoting  the  right  kind  of  intelli- 
gence. Saluting  the  flag,  the  singing  of  patriotic  songs,  Fourth 
of  July  celebrations  as  heretofore  conducted,  to  say  nothing 
of  most  of  the  patriotic  appeals  from  pulpit  and  rostrum,  are 
directed  merely  to  developing  instinctive  patriotism.  The 
really  needed  and  difficult  thing,  however,  is  to  inform  the 
instinct  so  that  it  will  operate,  even  under  trying  circum- 
stances, to  the  real  advantage  and  safety  of  the  nation.  Edu- 
cation should  be  directed  not  to  the  development  of  patriotic 
feeling,  but  to  imparting  the  kind  of  knowledge  by  which  I 
that  feeling  is  restrained  and  directed. 

The  difference  between  instinctive  patriotism  and  intelligent 
patriotism,  as  I  have  tried  to  present  it,  is  not,  of  course, 
absolute.  Feeling  is  necessary  to  action,  and  the  two  can  not/^ 
be  separated.  But  the  difference  between  impulsive  action 
and  rational  action  is  obvious,  and  so,  I  think,  must  be  the 
distinction  I  have  drawn  between  instinctive  patriotism  and 
intelligent  patriotism.  Instinctive  patriotism  is  not  to  be 
supplanted  by  intelligent  patriotism ;  it  is,  rather,  to  be  trans- 
formed into  it  by  knowledge. 


22  Educational  Review  [June 

With  the  distinction  of  the  two  kinds  of  patriotism  now 
before  us  it  will  be  interesting  to  compare  some  of  the  patriotic 
manifestations  in  modern  political  discussion.  Instinctive 
patriotism,  with  a  superficial  knowledge  of  science,  justifies 
war  on  the  ground  of  the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest. 
Intelligent  patriotism  analyzes  the  idea  of  the  fittest,  finds 
that  it  has  no  ethical  signification,  and  strives  to  promote  all 
activities  calculated  to  fit  our  nation  to  survive.  Instinctive 
patriotism  prates  in  language  which  to  delicate  ears  sounds 
almost  blasphemous,  of  the  unpremeditated  occurrences  in  our 
national  life  as  disclosing  the  will  of  Providence.  Intelligent 
patriotism  recognizes  that  safe  and  permanent  progress  is 
the  result  of  human  forethought,  that  the  blunders  of  a  nation 
are  no  less  deplorable  and  blameworthy  than  those  of  an 
individual,  and  that  unconsidered  or  ill-considered  action  on 
the  part  of  man  or  nation  is  quite  as  likely  to  disclose  the  will 
of  the  devil  as  the  will  of  the  Lord.  Instinctive  patriotism 
melodramatically  declares  that  the  flag  of  our  country  when- 
ever or  wherever,  and  no  matter  under  what  circumstances, 
it  is  erected,  shall  never  be  hauled  down.  Intelligent  patriotism 
insists  that  whenever  and  wherever  the  flag  is  raised  in  in- 
justice, or  as  a  symbol  of  oppression  and  tyranny,  the  sooner 
it  is  hauled  down  the  better;  for  the  intelligent  patriot  is 
likely  to  have  a  feeling  that  unless  it  is  lowered  by  our  own 
hands,  the  God  of  Justice  will  somehow  tear  it  down  and 
make  it  a  mockery  and  a  mournful  memory  in  the  minds  of 
men.  Instinctive  patriotism  defiantly  proclaims,  "  My  country, 
'  right  or  wrong."  Intelligent  patriotism  says,  "  My  country, 
I  when  she  is  right,  and  when  she  is  wrong,  my  life  to  set  her 
^  right."  Instinctive  patriotism,  nonplused  by  the  arguments 
of  the  peace  advocates,  tries  to  persuade  itself  that  such  advo- 
cates are  uneducated  sentimentalists  and  mollycoddles.  In- 
telligent patriotism  quietly  continues  to  organize  its  peace 
leagues,  associations,  and  federations,  schools,  tribunals,  and 
unions,  confident  that  proper  intelligence  will  make  war  im- 
possible. 

The   difference  between  the  two   kinds   of  patriotism   is 
shown  in  nothing  more  clearly  than  the  character  of  the  two 


1912]       Patriotism,  instinctive  and  intelligent  23 

national  ideals  now  inculcated.  Instinctive  patriotism  has 
much  to  say  about  our  becoming  a  "  world  power,"  the  in- 
evitableness  of  war,  and  of  our  rightful  influence  in  the  council 
of  nations.  Intelligent  patriotism  knows  we  have  long  been 
a  world  power,  that  war  is  neither  inevitable  nor  necessary, 
and  is  not  so  much  interested  in  our  rightful  influence  as  that 
our  influence  be  exercised  in  the  rightful  way.  The  instinctive 
patriotic  ideal  is  militant;  the  intelligent,  scientific  and  in-' 
dustrial. 

Is  it  necessary  to  inquire  which  is  the  higher  form  of 
patriotism?  Which  is  the  nobler  national  aspiration,  which 
evinces  the  loftier  patriotism,  supremacy  in  war  and  the 
arts  of  destruction,  with  hundreds  of  millions  of  our  wealth 
locked  up  in  ships,  forts,  and  arsenals,  and  thousands  of  men 
withdrawn  from  the  peaceful  pursuits  to  man  these  instru- 
ments of  death,  and  become  a  burden  on  the  back  of  labor,  or 
supremacy  in  industry,  in  trade,  in  science,  in  art,  in  litera- 
ture, and  in  education,  with  health,  wealth,  and  happiness  for 
all  our  people;  and,  because  we  have  charity  for  all  and  malice 
toward  none,  enjoying  the  good-will  and  friendship  of  all  the 
world?  For  which  should  we  strive  as  a  nation,  to  evoke 
the  fear  of  the  weaker  nations  by  the  strength  of  our  arma- 
ments (and  their  hatred  also,  for  hate  is  the  child  of  fear), 
or  to  deserve  and  compel  their  respect  and  admiration  by  fair 
dealing,  justice,  modesty,  moderation,  courtesy,  and  charity, 
and  by  our  sincerity  in  upholding  the  principles  of  liberty, 
equality,  and  fraternity? 

Instinctive  patriotism  is  thrilled  by  glowing  descriptions  of 
America  as  mighty  in  battle,  or  as  Mistress  of  the  Seas  with 
hundreds  of  battleships,  those  grim  leviathans  of  the  deep, 
plowing  the  waves  of  every  sea  and  proudly  tossing  from 
their  iron  manes  the  ocean  foam;  or  resting  unwelcome,  it 
may  be,  because  unbidden,  guests  in  the  ports  of  foreign 
lands;  each  bearing  witness  that  in  this  nation  of  ours,  con- 
ceived in  liberty  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all 
men  are  created  equal,  there  is  a  disposition  to  forsake  the 
principles  of  the  fathers  in  a  lust  for  power,  and  to  follow 
in  the  wake  of  Babylon  and  Nineveh,  Greece,  Rome  and 


24  n*HIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  JHE^LAST  DAT1 

Spain;  the  nations  whose  bloody  history  reveals  to  him  who 
will  but  read  that  the  nation  that  relies  upon  force  must 
finally  become  the  victim  of  force.  For  it  is  written,  "  They 
that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  by  the  sword." 

Intelligent  patriotism,  on  the  other  hand,  is  inspired  by 
the  ideal  of  America  as  a  republic  supremely  powerful  by  the 
force  of  an  enlightened  public  opinion,  and  supremely  glori- 
ous on  account  of  her  successful  pursuit  of  the  arts^gf  peace, 
and  because  of  her  acknowledged  leadership  in  all  that  liber- 
ates and  lifts.  The  prophet  of  old  declared  that  there  shall 
come  a  time  when  swords  shall  be  beaten  into  plowshares  and 
spears  into  pruning-hooks,  and  men  shall  learn  war  no  more; 
and  that  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  knowledge  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea.  When  these  prophecies  are  to  be  fulfilled  no 
one  can  know — 

"Ah,  when  shall  all  men's  good  be  each  man's  rule, 

And  universal  peace  lie  like  a  shaft  of  light  across  mankind; 
Or  like  a  lane  of  beams  athwart  the  sea 
Thru  all  the  circle  of  the  golden  year?" 

But  these  prophecies  imply  a  period  of  continuous  peace  and 
general  education  involving  the  diffusion  of  patriotic  knowl- 
edge. Who  can  estimate  what  this  will  mean  to  the  advance- 
ment of  the  people?  It  is  not  given  unto  men  to  foretell  what 
this  nation  is  to  become;  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall 
be;  but  of  this  we  may  be  sure,  that  with  continuous  peace, 
universal  education,  and  intelligent  patriotism,  eye  hath  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  has  it  entered  into  the  imagination 
of  man  to  conceive  the  glorious  possibilities  of  the  American 
Republic. 

IRA  WOODS  HOWERTH 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


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